The Third Estate Sunday Review focuses on politics and culture. We're an online magazine. We don't play nice and we don't kiss butt. In the words of Tuesday Weld: "I do not ever want to be a huge star. Do you think I want a success? I refused "Bonnie and Clyde" because I was nursing at the time but also because deep down I knew that it was going to be a huge success. The same was true of "Bob and Carol and Fred and Sue" or whatever it was called. It reeked of success."

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Barack Obama is still working to promote the interests of the world’s
ruling elites. Former presidents usually disappear from view and write
their memoirs. But Obama is openly making election endorsements in
France and Germany, and hanging out with royalty in the United Kingdom.
His activities are not accidental, they are an extension of what the
Democrats do at home. The ruling classes need to be mollified and that
apparently is permanent job for Mr. Hope and Change.

Noel Gallagher is the most overrated songwriter in the whole history of
pop music. They were perfect for the Brit press because they behaved
badly and got all the attention. Blur were really great. That guy Damon
Albarn is a real f**kin' songwriter.

Shaun King (NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) observes, "The Democratic Party has shifted to the right. It's not anti-war. It's not strong on the environment. It's not strong on civil and human rights. It's not for universal health care. It's not strong on cracking down on Wall Street and big banks or corporate fraud."

It's certainly not anti-war and hasn't been since the 2006 mid-term elections.

That's when the pretense of ending the Iraq War vanished -- when the American people were told by Nancy Pelosi to give them control of one house of Congress and they would end the Iraq War.

So trusting, the American people gave them control of both houses of Congress.

Instead of ending the Iraq War, they used it to turn out votes in the 2008 election.

This led to a Democratically-controlled Congress and a US president (Barack Obama) who was elected on his promise to end the Iraq War.

In a big middle finger to the American people, the Iraq War continued and continues.

Barack left office in January, after two terms as president, and the Iraq War drags on.

(So does the Afghanistan War but he can at least claim he never promised to end that one.)

The Democratic officials didn't just refuse to end the Iraq War, the Democratic Party voters refused to hold them to their promises.

Glen Ford (BLACK AGENDA REPORT) points out, "The U.S. does need a social democratic party, but it must be anti-war,
otherwise it commits a fraud on social democracy. The United States is
the imperial superpower, the main military aggressor on the planet. Its
rulers must be deprived of the political ability to spend trillions on
war, and to kill millions, or they will always use the 'necessity' of
war to enforce austerity. The 'left' domestic project will fail."

As we stated last week, "Let's be really clear, the left abandoned Iraq and when it did so, it lost it's way."

Violence erupted and US House Majority Whipe Steve Scalise was among those shot.

US President Donald Trump summed it up this way:This week, our nation was shocked and horrified when a gunman opened
fire on a Member of Congress. Five people were wounded in the assault,
including a member of House Leadership – my good friend, Steve Scalise.

Steve is beloved across Washington, he embodies everything public
service is about – he’s dedicated to his constituents, devoted to his
values, and deeply committed to his country. I visited Steve, his wife,
and his family in the hospital as he continues to fight for his
recovery. 435 Members of Congress, and 300 million Americans, are
pulling for him, praying for him, and pledging to him our full and total
support.

We continue to hold all of those wounded and fighting for recovery in
our hearts and prayers, including Matt Mika, who was also badly wounded.

In that terrible crime, we also witnessed the incredible heroism of
Capitol Police. Special Agent Crystal Griner – who I also had the honor
of meeting during my visit to the Hospital – raced into gunfire, along
with Special Agent David Bailey. They saved the lives of our Members of
Congress and prevented that dark day from becoming a tragedy beyond
imagination. They, like so many other courageous police officers,
represent the very best of us. We salute them, and we also salute
members of Alexandria Police, Fire and Rescue.

Though we have our differences, what unites us is so much stronger: our
love of country, our devotion to its people. Now more than ever, these
values must guide us – and bring us closer together. Let us always
remember that our job is to serve and represent the whole American
People – and that we are all children of the same God.

Before opening fire, the shooter made sure to determine that potential victims would be Republican.

Proclaiming that the president engaged in treason — as many members of Congress and media figures
have — is going to have an influence on the broader public, and
included in that broader public are people who might be deranged and/or
have violent inclinations.

If
you deny that the kind of overblown rhetoric that Democrats have
specialized in over the past months — warning about traitorous
subterfuge and foreign infiltration — can have any trickle-down effect
on regular people, you’re deluding yourself. And yes, this same
principle applies across the board. Republicans and conservatives who
wail delusionally about Sharia Law and the usurpation of American
institutions by scheming Muslims also have this effect. Given that
Islam-obsessives promote a political ideology that reeks of paranoia and
conspiratorial fancy, it should be no surprise that disturbed
individuals occasionally latch on to these beliefs and commit acts of
violence. When this occurs,
the act can be reasonably attributed to the right-wing provocateurs who
have spewed such propaganda for such an extended period of time. Does
that mean you can assign direct culpability to any given provocateur for
any given violent act? No. To do that would be to make an unfounded
claim of causation, and establishing causation is inherently tenuous in
these situations. But it’s ridiculous to suggest that political beliefs
can’t motivate unstable people to act in certain ways, including in ways
that bring about violence.

Media figures like Rachel Maddow, to cite only one, did not pull a trigger nor did they put a gun in the hand of shooter. But they did promote a climate of hatred and that is on them.

Many in the political establishment have expressed shock and
disbelief over Wednesday’s events. They have no right to be surprised.
Such events are now a common feature of American life, with 372 mass
shootings reported in 2016 alone.The United States is dominated
by violence and inequality, and yet the vast majority of the population
has no way to express its social anger through the institutions of
government, the courts, the trade unions, the corporate press or the
political parties.The political battles in Washington are utterly
remote from the real concerns of masses of people. At a time when the
Democratic Party expends all its political energy on an hysterical
anti-Russian campaign aimed at bringing about a shift in Trump’s foreign
policy, what motivates popular anger in the working class is not lurid
claims of a Russian conspiracy, but social inequality and war.
There are lessons to be drawn. Social anger is real and it is building.
Millions of workers will be looking toward the development of social
struggle—not individual terrorism—to address the many problems of
personal and social life. The task of the International Committee of the
Fourth International is to unify all of the disparate social struggles
of workers and youth in a mass political struggle for the socialist
reorganization of the world economy.

A lesson in last week for all.

For the media, they need to stop presenting their revenge fantasies on Donald Trump as fact.

For the politicians, they need to lower the rhetoric.

For the political parties?

They need to grasp how many people are being disenfranchised by a system that does not listen to them, does not represent them and ignores them.

A conversation should be taking place with self-examination.

This could also include the topic of what message is two endless wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) sending -- not just overseas but domestically?

Friday night on The CW, the latest episode of The Originals aired. Remember, next Friday is the finale.

So The Hollow is in Hope (Hayley and Klaus' daughter). Hayley tries to
brush Hope's hair and notices that Hope is acting weird. Marcel injects
Sofia and explains, when she comes to, that she has been in coma since
The Hollow entered her.

She says The Hollow isn't dead, she can still feel it.

Vincent is charged by The Hollow's underlings who steal the book on The Hollow.

Let's move to something nice.

Freya goes to see Keelen. She explains that when she was battling The
Hollow, she saw her greatest fear: Keelen dying and Freya having no way
to stop it.

The two made love.

After, this exchange . . .

Keelen: You coming to see me this morning, it was nice.

Freya: Truth is, I almost ran. Pretty good at that actually.

Keelen: Why didn't you?

Freya: Well, it just hit me that when I die, I'm not going to wake
up five minutes later. Neither are you. Compared to the rest of my
family, my life is going to be so short and I guess I just didn't want
to waste it anymore.

Keelan: Glad you didn't.

They kiss.

Even if Hayley hadn't decided it was over with Eli, Freya and Keelen would be my favorite couple.

And, yes, it's over.

Rebecca spoke with Hayley who told her that she didn't want Hope raised
to believe it was normal that you destroy whole cities to wipe out your
enemies, etc.

Hayley was avoiding Eli but he sensed what was going on and talked with Klaus.

It's always kind of weird that Hayley and Klaus had the baby but it was Klaus' brother Eli that Hayley loved.

Vincent harnessed the power of Marcel (with Marcel's reluctant
agreement) to go back and time to the creation of The Hollow and he
heard its birth but was thrown back out. Marcel's power wasn't strong
enough. Vincent needs the book that was stolen or . . .

"That leaves us with one option, I have to be dead."

So he goes dead while Eli and Klaus go after the underlings.

Rebecca talks to The Hollow who she thinks is her niece Hope.

The Hollow has tossed out a friendship bracelet into the fire and
Rebecca thinks Hope is scared. "In a thousand years, nothing has bested
us. We can't be defeated," Rebecca assures her.

"Well there is one thing," The Hollow says.

And The Hollow makes a piece of wood pierce Rebecca from the back and down she goes.

Meanwhile a happy Freya enters the compound and goes up to Hayley, "I
know we're not always the most honest around here but I had to tell
someone . . ."

She looks at Hayley and stops because Hayley is so depressed.

Hayley explains Hope is acting weird and hands Freya the brush she was
trying to brush Hope's hair with, "I took this from Hope's room, do a
reading on this tell me what kind of energy you feel."

Freya casts a spell . . . It's The Hollow.

Klaus and Eli are about to tear into the underlings when one tells them that The Hollow is in Hope.

Klaus goes into vampire mode and tears into it the man.

Freya explains to Keelen what's going on and Keelen insists that she's going to go along.

They kiss.Keelen: "Don't try to stop me."Freay: "I already have."

Freya's cast a spell on Keelen to keep her there and safe.

As she walks out, Hayley is watching Hope and proposing they go do something fun but Hope won't even look at her.

And as The Hollow makes remarks, Hayley's tired of playing.

She tells The Hollow, "I want my daughter back."

Meanwhile, some underlings arrive at the graveyard to kill Vincent
before he can go back to when The Hollow was created. Marcel's
protecting Vincent and is supposed to bring him back to life with the
same shot that pulled Sofia out of her coma.

He tells them that they're not going to hurt Vincent unless they go through him "and in case you haven't heard I can't die."

They don't care, they're up for the challenge.

As they fight, Hayley and The Hollow exchange words.

"I don't care how long it takes or what I have to do I will get my daughter back," Hayley tells her.

The Hollow: You won't. Hope is still fighting but she'll give in soon.

The Hollow flashes Hope's arm where the image of the serpent swallowing its own tail is about 1/4 visible.

The Hollow: Once this is complete, I'll be in her body permanently.

Then she adds, "You won't hurt me I'm your daughter."

Freya appears from behind chanting a spell.

It causes The Hollow to pass out.

Hayley: How long do we have?

Freya: Not long. We need to work fast.

They do.

But as they do, The Hollow turns to mist above Hope's body and goes down to confront them.

She tosses Freya across the room and then, when Hayley charges her, sends a knife type weapon through her.

As Marcel, Vincent, Sofia, Eli and Klaus get ready to enter the
compound, Sofia stops Klaus to explain about when The Hollow possessed
her, "While she had me all I wanted to do was give up."

She adds, "You can't let that happen to Hope."

As a result, Klaus goes into spiritual mode and visits Hope to encourage her to fight.

The others work on confronting The Hollow.

Sofia sees lights flickering and then The Hollow appears before her.

The Hollow: Hello again.

She causes Sofia to fall and bleed out of her mouth. (She's not dead. She'll be back alive in the final scene.)Klaus: Hope listen to me, you need to stay awake, you have to stay with me, can you do that?Hope: I'll try.

He tells her that he was brutal and evil before she was born but from
the minute he saw her he wanted to be a worthy father and he needs her.

Eli sees Hayley staked and vows vengeance. The Hollow: How predictable.Eli: You will pay for this.The Hollow: I've killed you once Elijah I won't hesitate to do so again.

She tosses Eli out of commission.

Marcel enters telling her to show herself and asking, "What's the matter, the big bad Hollow too scared to face me?"

The Hollow: I hide from no one. Especially not some would be king of New Orleans

She then ends Marcel (Marcel, like Klaus, Rebecca and Eli, is a vampire
and can't die, Hayley's a wolf and she's not dead either).

Vincent enters.

Vincent: That is vicious. Even for you. He must have struck a nerve.

Vincent trapped her.

Vincent: Now I'm going to put you in your cave forever.

He means the book. He's casting the spell.

As this happens, Klaus is trying to keep Hope away.

What do we all hate?

I blabber. Someone who blathers on and on and doesn't do the job.

Meet Vincent.

He stops mid-spell to inform her that what she's feeling? That's losing and blah blah blah.

Thanks Vincent.

She used that moment to break free.

The Hollow: You think you've beaten me!

Vincent is out, she's back in Hope.

Back in Hope's body, The Hollow walks to the stairs, sees the book next to the circle that held her.

She aims her hand at the book and sets it on fire.

She burns the book.

Commercial break.

Last segment of the show.

Rebecca, Klaus, Hayley, Freya, Keelen, Marcel, Sofia, Eli and Vincent are all at the compound.

Hayley: Where is she?

Vincent: I couldn't save her. She's The Hollow now.

A cloud of sadness descends.

Rebecca: There must be some other way.Freya: Vincent?Vincent: I don't know any other way.

Hayley's not accepting that result. She says she's going to save her daughter. Eli grabs her shoulder.Eli: Let me help.Hayley: Don't touch me.Eli: I am on your side.Hayley: I should never have brought her back here.

The Hollow meets with her underlings who bow before her.

She smiles/smirks.

At the compound, Sofia comforts Vincent, while Rebecca turns her back on them.

Klaus enters the compound.Klaus: A thousand years ago, we three [Rebecca, Eli and Klaus] made
an enternal vow to protect each other always and fover. Freya, that vow
now includes you as it includes my daughter. She's my heart and sould.
Right now, she's outthere alone in the darkness fighting. We can't give
up. So I'm begging you, all of you, if there's any chance --

Vincent: I think I know a way to save her.

All eyes turn to look at Vincent.

Vincent: If we go this route, this is going to be the end of your family, this is going to be the end of always and forever.

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Jim, Dona, Jess, Ty, "Ava" started out this site as five students enrolled in journalism in NY. Now? We're still students. We're in CA. Journalism? The majority scoffs at the notion.
From the start, at the very start, C.I. of The Common Ills has helped with the writing here. C.I.'s part of our core six/gang. (C.I. and Ava write the TV commentaries by themselves.) So that's the six of us. We also credit Dallas as our link locator, soundboard and much more. We try to remember to thank him each week (don't always remember to note it here) but we'll note him in this. So this is a site by the gang/core six: Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I. (of The Common Ills).